metro area. one to two inches possible in the area and then you go south and it is a big story for those parts. for us, just a couple of flakes. we'll tell you about the weekend in just a few minutes. >> thank you very much. we have some breaking news now, we're outside the prince george's courthouse. >> this is a case involving richmond phillips, we just found out, it is a conviction, convicting richmond phillips of two first-degree murder charges, one handgun charge, and one child abuse charge. it goes back to may of 2011 when accusers say he killed his girlfriend and his daughter as well. we just left the courtroom. this just came out. again, richmond phillips convicted of all counts.

we know that his sentencing has been set for march 22 at 9:30 a.m. a big wrap-up to the case that we've been following since 2011. >> you will be happy to know that despite the fact that we don't have snow in our immediate area the crews are ready to roll just in case. we have snow plouse lined up and on stand by. they are loaded up with salt since this morning. 295 was covered with salt as a precaution. >> it seems like kids were not the only ones hoping to see snow. we visitted a hardware store where workers told us they were eager to sell some shovels, salt, and much more. there are plenty of items in stock because our snow-free

winter. our coverage continues at 11:00 and any time at our website wjla.com. >> not much snow but a lot of flu, a lot of people battling the flu. the official numbers won't be out until tomorrow but we learned in maryland alone there has been 6,000 confirmed cases of the flu. doctors say there is still time to protect yourself by getting a flu shot. by the way, this is a good one, we learned that 16,000 of the doses will be distributed through the washington, baltimore area. >> vice president tonight is asking the nation's mayors in com battling gun violence. biden says the outcry after the newtown shooting should push lawmakers to address the issue. president obama unveiled the most sweeping gun control plan in decades including a ban on

assault-style weapons. >> this isn't about mass shootings, it is about gun violence of all kinds. 25 people die of gun-related homicide in this country every day. >> now the president signed 23 executive actions, including orders to make more federal records for background checks. his $500 million plan addresses men the health services is facing strong opposition. >> well, it pays to plan ahead. the inauguration is bringing out some planning on capitol hill. they feel they have enough cars up there already and believe it or not some people are looking for a parking space for those cars. stephen tschida joins us with more on the parking spaces. >> we're actually downtown, and i'm going to show you something that we won't see a lot of come monday. an open parking space.

in the shadow of the u.s. capitol you always find lots of cars. come the inauguration locating a parking space will pose a major challenge. so what happens if you give up your space before monday? >> i don't know. probably not going move my car the whole day. >> some plan to drive into the city for the ceremony has already started the stench for a place to park. >> i've been busy. >> the parking website is swamped, it helps to reserve a parking space in advance. >> they don't know what time they will get here and what traffic will be like. that way they can have it locked up ahead of time. >> not everyone is worried about the congestion that comes with the inauguration. they say come on, it only happens once every four years. >> it is a special day. it is important. we can put it with it for a day. >> some residents take the influx that comes with big events in tried.

>> it is always hard. but not as bad as georgetown. >> folks in the parking business say one thing we're not seing this time around is a lot of people who own parking spaces, renting their parking spaces out for the day. it appears that many people are choosing to stick around for the nation. >> thanks. be sure to join us for our nation coverage on monday. we're going to kick things off starting at 4:30 a.m. >> still to come a deadly hostage situation in algeria has come to an end. >> also, why boeing is not allowing its streamliners to impact production. we're also going to talk about which aircraft manufacturers are using the same batteries that are

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>> a hostage situation in algeria is over tonight. what is not clear is how many people have died in this rescue and how many made it out alive. greta kreuz joins us with the story. >> that's right. abc news is reporting that five americans are safe but the fate of three other americans and dozens of other foreign workers

at the b.p. plant in the desert are still unknown. the hostage situation is over and u.s. officials hope the loss of life will be minimal. >> when you deal with the relentless terrorist life is not in any way precious to them. >> it started yesterday when terrorists attacked a bus carrying internarblal workers. a military escort fought off the attackers who went to the plant and took hostages. when they tried to escape with the captives military helicopters opened fire on their convoy. the millie tants led by this man, claimed 35 hostages were killed but that could not be confirmed. >> we're concerned about reports of loss of life and we're seeking clarity from the government. >> one hostage was confirmed

safe, he called his family to say he was free. >> we're delighted. >> but the fate of the others are still unclear. officials warn this is symptom attic of al qaeda in north africa. >> some say this was a retaliation for the french military efforts. at any rate, it caused a jump in oil prices today and several oil companies are pulling their workers out ofal jeesh ya. -- algeria. >> production of boeing's 787 is moving forward. boeing must find solution to an

election tri cal problem. they will continue to manufacture these planes the company would not talk about any planned deliveries. rival company airbus which uses the same batteries they are confident their planes would not have the same problem. >> big change in house leader nancy pelosi's staff. her chief of staff is retiring after 38 years on capitol hill. his last day will be february 1. he will be replaced by pelosi's communication director. other staffers will move up or get expanded responsibilities. >> a number of metro stations are getting a makeover. we're going tell you what is being done and when it is getting started and when things will be complete. >> we'll be back with a look at the weather. >> at gnats introduce their new

supertar. their back. the caps are back on the ice. britt mchenry is in the phone booth with team owner

>> changes are coming to metro stations around our area. more than 125 escalators will be replaced or modernized by 2020. a contract worth $1r50 million was awarded to core corporation. it will start at the pentagon station where three of six will be replaced. >> that is a welcome change. as doug mentioned there could be some snow to our south. we sent jeff goldberg to fredericksburg hoping to see snow. just rain so far right? >> that's right. we saw heavy rain about an hour ago. it is light at the moment. we spoke with a lot of people here in town in fredericksburg who went home early or took the afternoon off with anticipation of snow that has yet to fall. it is usually kids who can find fun in any kind of weather, even

weather like this. but the adults are hoping for more. >> i hope it is snow and cold enough to stick. >> i think it would be wonderful. >> abby is not letting another rainy day get her down. she sure would like to see snow, a lot of it. >> about two feet would be wonderful. >> thursday afternoon, fredericksburg's schools along with other counties canceled afternoon and evening events. she thinks is the right decision even if it is based on the thought of snow. >> we don't have the equipment for snow. >> vdot would probably beg to differ. >> give us a chance to get out there. >> in the fredericksburg district vdot will deploy 900 pieces of equipment no roads and side streets. >> [certain stern]

>> we are are waiting for winter. >> i am kind of bummed about it. i was hoping for snow. >> vdot will remain ready to go as long as this snow remains a threat. if you see those trucks on the road give them room to do their work. >> keep that snow blower gassed up. >> you never know. >> last year this time, we thought we would have flakes falling in the city this time tonight. look at our camera. dry. not only know snow but no rain in the area as well. this is our thursday, 46 and 43. not much change between the high and low during the day today because of the cloud cover. onlyn't 01 of rain so far.

in the south and rain and snow to the south and west is because of a push of dry air. it is a key player, the cool dry air moving in is helping to turn this to snow but it is protecting us from precipitation. this is what we talked about yesterday. it will have a sharp drop off and a tiny change will have a huge result. you're look at the result. temperatures are cold but not terribly cold. as that cold air works down we'll drop below freezing overnight. everything has been settling to the south slowly all day. no longer any advisories in the area those have been pushed through southern maryland. i think through the night those will be cancels ofed of are pushed -- canceled to or pushed farther to the south. a big raging january snowstorm

is under way. in suicide of virginia and southwest and back to the mountains in piedmont, north carolina. all the moisture is translating to southwest circulation around one storm center and pushing to the northeast. but we're right in the northern fringes and you see a lot of clear skies and that is playing a huge roll role in the storm system. clies will clear by sun rise. we have a couple of bright breezy day. a beautiful weekend with highs in the 40's. by sound night a strong cold front will change it for the colder. here's my final word maybe a little snowflake activity maybe not. we'll look to see what happens farther south maybe a couple of inches of wet snow. temperatures cold through the day tomorrow. breezy, it will feel like in it is in the 20's all day.

we will have sun. a cold, breezy inauguration day with temperatures in the 30's and bitterly cold tuesday and wednesday. >> we begin with the strange case of the girlfriend who wasn't there. >> this is unbelievable. very weird. i've been in sports for a long time and the manti te'o story is the strangest i've ever heard. the girlfriend never existed. the disease and death was a hoax. i never heard of cat fishing until this week. the university of notre dame says when they found out about the cruel hoax they investigated their star linebacker to see his involvement in any. they believe he is a victim and had no clue. public opinion seems to be split whether he was naive or an

accomplice. we'll continue to follow the story. for hockey fans the season opens in tampa. take a look at this. a few minutes ago they opened the gates and fans poured in. hockey is back. britt mchenry is in the phone booth and she caught up with the owner, ted leonsis. >> from an owner's perspective how happy are you this is back to reality and the lockout is over? >> i'm so happy to see the fans here tonight. anybody can come in and it is pretty cold out. we might have 40,000 people. it looks like it is going to snow out there. i'm really happy and so apologetic to the fans. we worked really hard this week and it is amazing there is no time to think about it. we drop the puck on saturday and

come back and have our first home gain and practice tonight, practice tomorrow, and the season starts. >> for baseball fans, 26 days until the national pitchers and catchers come to. today, he introduced his new closer. everybody seems to be excited about him. he is experienced, he has a gun he is big-time. they are adding another all-star to their lineup. >> i'm certainly not worried about cliff or drew. they are professionals. they are very confident in their abilities and they got a great skill set. so we're happy as we can be about the state of our bullpen and we're glad to have them all on board. >> meanwhile, the maryland basketball team got a big time win last night. their biggest win of the year.

alex scored the accidental score. it was n.c. state. but it is maryland's biggest win in a long time. they play at north carolina on saturday. our play of the day comes from the st. mary's game. with two seconds left, but st. mary's answers the miracle. st. mary's get the three-pointer, the length of the court. 70-69. finally all your penn staters hear this, a new movie will be called "happy ballot" and al

>> final word tonight. >> let's take a look at the snow machine. we have rain to the east and to the south. it will be slow moving. clearly the farther south you go the better chance. we'll have an update at 11:00. >> abc "world news" is up next. >> we'll see you back here at 11:00. have a great evening.